Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, right, controls the ball during a match against Minnesota United earlier this season. The Galaxy have a weekend off to recover from another ugly road loss before their next game Sept. 15 in Toronto. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CARSON — The last two road games for the Galaxy have resulted in a total of 11 goals scored by the opposition.

Maybe it is a good thing the club has this weekend off before returning Sept. 15 at Toronto FC.

“Given the results that we’ve had the past couple of weeks, it (bye week) has given us time to address a couple of issues,” Galaxy midfielder Servando Carrasco said. “I think when you have a game like the one we had in (Real) Salt Lake (a 6-2 loss), you want to play as quickly as possible to bounce back.

“I think the time that we have now, these 13-14 days to prepare for this game in Toronto is crucial. We’re taking it as an opportunity to work on some things and to address some things, so let’s hope that it becomes a week that’s very productive. So far, it has been very good.”

The Galaxy have been on the training field this week, will take the weekend off and return Monday before heading to Toronto next Thursday.

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After their best stretch of play saw them climb to third in the Western Conference standings on July 29, the Galaxy went winless in August (0-2-3) and kicked off September with a painful 6-2 defeat at Real Salt Lake last weekend.

The loss to RSL came two weeks after a 5-0 shellacking at Seattle, two games against Western Conference opponents who are also fighting for playoff positioning.

Sandwiched in between was a 1-1 draw with LAFC, one of the Galaxy’s better performances, especially defensively.

“We were very aggressive on the defensive side and we came out with a lot of confidence, which is pretty hard to do after you a get result, like 5-0,” Carrasco said of the LAFC match. “As long as we can kind of bottle that performance up and try and emulate what we did there, which was try and be aggressive. That’s what we did in Salt Lake, we came out well, scored in the first minute.

“This is a game of moments and, as of late, we haven’t responded well to when we give up goals, so I think that’s kind of the main thing. We need to respond better to when we concede.”

The Galaxy (10-10-8, 38 points) stands in eighth place in the Western Conference, below Seattle (41), Portland (41) and Vancouver (40). However, Seattle and Portland have played two fewer games than the Galaxy and Vancouver one.

After next Saturday’s game, the next two opponents for the Galaxy will be Seattle and Vancouver, both at home.

Carrasco stopped short of saying the next few games are must-wins.

“That’s a dangerous term to throw around,” he said. “But in saying that, we definitely do feel the pressure. I’ve been talking with guys who have been in this league a long time. There’s always a team that sneaks into the playoffs, and I think that could be us.

“We just have to win one game and kind of hold on to that momentum and hold that confidence. If we can get a big win in Toronto or if we can pick up points … mathematically, we’re still in it. Now is not the time to be like we’re out of it or short of confidence.”

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos (Mexico) and defender Rolf Feltscher (Venezuela) were called up to their respective national teams.

Sebastian Lletget was released from U.S. men’s national team camp due to an abdominal strain.

Damian Calhoun is the Prep Sports Coordinator and writer for the Daily Breeze. He's also the soccer writer for the Southern California News Group, covering Major League Soccer and occasionally the U.S. national teams.